Garrus and the First Date Jitters
by Jobrill
Summary: Garrus is nervous about his big date, so he shakes down his best friend Shepard for advice. Garrus/Dr. Michel, mentions of M!Shep/Tali.


"Come on, Shepard," Garrus said, looking at his commander with intense pleading in his eyes, "You have to know a thing or two about human women."

"Garrus," Shepard said, a mixture of amusement and surprise plastered on his face, "You may be talking to the wrong man if you need love advice. It's not that I haven't had girlfriends before, but, uh. Most of my relationships only lasted a few months. It's hard to do long distance, and it has to be long distance when you're on deep space duty for months at a time."

"But you have a Girlfriend now, Shepard," Garrus pointed out.

Shepard grinned, "Yes, but she's on the Normandy. And she isn't Human."

"Point taken," Garrus chuckled, "But still. Shepard. Throw me a bone here."

Shepard leaned back in his chair, running a hand across his regulation Alliance buzz cut. "C'mon Garrus, I know you aren't any stranger to women. Reach and flexibility, right?"

"Yeah, but I haven't had a real date in almost 2 and a half years, and I haven't had a steady woman for 5. And None of them were human anyway. I'm the same as you, Shepard," Garrus said, "Our line of work doesn't leave much time for romance. But I want to see what I can do. This girl is worth it."

Shepard chuckled, and held up his hands in surrender "Alright, alright. I'll do what I can. Dr. Michel, huh? I'm happy for you. When she sent me that message just after Omega, I thought it seemed like she was more hoping to see you than me. So. Why her, anyway? If you don't me asking, of course."

"Well... Hey, don't get me wrong, Shepard. I'm not some human fetishist here. This is just about Chloe. She's different. Shepard, I can practically count the number of friends I have on two claws. There's You, Tali, Jacob... And Dr. Michel. I just... want something to go right for once, Shepard. She's important to me, and if I mess this up, I..." Garrus trailed off, and leaned back in his own chair, suddenly running out of words to convey the tight mass of emotions churning in his stomach.

"Hey. Don't get down on me Vakarian. I got your back, you know that. But I just want to know more about the girl who's turned my best friend all gooey, that's all."

"Well. I guess I can oblige you," Garrus said, "I met her probably. Oh, 5 years back now. She started working for me as an informant. When patients came in who'd been roughed up - or worse - by some gang or another down in the Wards, she'd try to get them to talk to me. What you saw wasn't the first time I'd waxed some thugs who were trying to shut her up. But she never gave in. She was always right back there helping the downtrodden, whether it was sending them to me for protection or offering free care or medical supplies when they couldn't pay their bills. She-"

Garrus looked up at the ceiling again, falling silent for a moment. Shepard watched him patiently, though, and after a beat or two, he resumed.

"Look, Shepard," He said, "You know what I did on Omega. I thought I could make a difference. I thought I could make things safer for the poor, the needy, the oppressed. But in the end, I didn't make much of a dent. It's the same dirty, filthy place. There's just different scum at the heads of the merc groups now. All I have to show for it is two wasted years, a dead squad that I couldn't protect, and a whole lot of blood on my hands."

"Hey, we've been over this, Garrus. You did what you could." Shepard said.

"I know, Shepard, I know," Garrus said, "But... Well, that's not my point. The point is... People called me the Archangel. They said I was a hero for what I did. For killing I those mercs. But I don't know that I ever deserved the title. I don't regret doing it, but I've never felt very angelic about it either. Gunning people down is cold, clinical, precise. Not warm and noble and whatever people expect it to be. Now Chloe? I could call her the Archangel. I'm a destroyer, Shepard. I've made my peace with that, don't get me wrong. It's what I am. But her, she's a creator. A nurturer. And I'll always believe that makes her better than I'll ever be."

"She helps people," He continued, "Even when the Galaxy keeps pushing her down. They send Thugs to rough her up or kill her, they send blackmailers to ruin her, and the only thing she's concerned about is that she can keep helping people. She walks the tightrope between the dark and the light to help people. Not kill, help. She's the real angel."

"Really, Shepard, before you showed up, she was the only friend I had. Most of my colleagues in C-Sec felt I was too much of a loose cannon. Did things outside the rulebook too often. No unit cohesion. Same reason I left the Military, actually. All in all, I make a pretty lousy Turian. Chloe didn't care about that so much. She was always happy to see me. When she didn't have any information for me, she always made me stay and talk with her anyway. Even had a pot of Galatana Gray tea ready for me most days. When I looked down, she made me buck up. Sometimes on my days off, I'd come by her clinic, help move supplies or-"

Garrus looked up from his reveries to see Shepard's sides shaking with Mirth. He tilted his head inqusitively at his friend.

"Sorry Garrus," Shepard said, "But really. I can see why you never kept a girl beyond a single date. They probably took one look at you and Dr. Michel and figured you were already taken."

"Shepard, I didn't mean it like... do you think, all this time..."

"Trust me, Garrus," Shepard answered, "I think I noticed it 2 years ago. When we came back to the Citadel that one time and dropped by to buy some new Medical Exoskeletons, she wasn't just happy to see us because we offered to help her with the Krogan. She was looking right at you the whole time. And like I said, that letter she sent after I pulled you out of Omega was pretty clear."

Garrus shook his head, "My father always said I was too thickheaded for my own good."

"Hey, Don't worry about it, Garrus," Shepard said, "I did the same thing with Tali. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I was happy when I was down in engineering talking to her. I knew I was always just a little bit more concerned when she got grazed by a bullet. I didn't hesitate to give her that Geth data even though it was against Alliance regs. But I always told myself she was just a friend. Even when I realized my feelings, I kept making excuses. She's young. Our DNA is different. We can't even eat the same food. But they're all just that: Excuses. If you love each other, you can make it work."

"Yeah," Garrus said, an undercurrent of relief washing out some of the nervousness in his voice, "I guess you're right, Shepard."

"Well, I'm not going to lie to you, Garrus," Shepard said, "It isn't always easy. If nothing else, a nice romantic candlelit dinner takes a lot more logistical planning. Hell, so do other things. And you'll still be different. There's cultural stuff to get through, mannerisms that don't translate between species well, things like that. But you can get through that if you're willing to work at it. Dr. Michel obviously already likes you a lot. She likes you, Garrus. You don't need learn human courtship rituals or anything. You know the basics. Just be yourself. She likes Garrus Vakarian, and he's a damn easy guy to like anyway."

Garrus chuckled, "I suppose so. Thanks, Shepard. I don't feel quite so nervous."

"Hey, I'm always here for you, Garrus," Shepard said. Then his mouth quirked into a small grin, "Oh, have you talked to Dr. Solus about this any?"

"Actually, He got wind of my date from Yeoman Chambers. Came by my post a few days back. Gave me some... ah, advice. Said he'd forward some tips on... Human-Turian relations to me."

Shepard leaned forward, "Did you take a look?"

"Shepard, what kind of- I'm taking things slow. I don't want to pressure Chloe into anything she's not ready for, and it's a big step. Doubly so because of our -" Garrus broke off his nervous rambling as Shepard continued to grin at him, and threw up his talons in surrender, "Damn it, alright. I looked at them. But... I just want to be ready, that's all. Just in case."

Shepard leaned back in his chair again, his sides again shaking with barely contained laughter, "Sorry Garrus. Just had to give you a hard time. Believe me, Mordin did the same thing to me. But I think he means well. But seriously, you'll do fine. Dr. Michel's a good woman, and she thinks the world of you, and you sound like you're going after her for all the right reasons."

Shepard leaned forward again, "But hey. If she breaks your heart, or if you decide it just isn't working, it's alright to feel down about it for a bit. But you have to take that leap. You have to try or you'll regret it. I know what I didn't do with Tali was on my mind when I was floating through space in nothing but an unsealed hardsuit. But if worse comes to worse, you can bum out, but don't let yourself get too down. You just come get Jacob and Me. We'll go spill some drinks on the Citadel, get you feeling right again."

Garrus' mandibles flexed in the Turian equivalent of a smile, a genuine one at that. "Thanks, Shepard. I feel a lot better. Optimistic too. I'm going finish getting ready."

Shepard rose from his seat, "Good luck Garrus. And if this works out, you know we'll have to go out on at least one double date."

Garrus turned just before the door and looked back at Shepard with an expression of feigned horror, "Shepard, are you sure you want Tali and Chloe to join forces? Two formidable women like that working together could cause us a lot of grief!"

Shepard chuckled, "That's the thing, Garrus. These two girls obviously have us tough old Marines locked down. We need backup to hold our own, and I know there's no one who's got my back like you do."

Garrus laughed as he head for the door, "Yeah. True enough, huh? Double date it is. See you later Shepard."

Alone in his quarters again, Shepard turned back to his desk and his paperwork, but after a few moments, he realized he wasn't doing much more than shuffling things around. To hell with it. Paperwork wasn't going to destroy the Reapers. Garrus had the right idea. The Council and the Alliance could wait for the important stuff. Shepard turned to his comm and keyed it to engineering console C.

"Miss Vas Normandy," he said, the grin on his face spreading quickly to his voice, "This is Commander Shepard..."


End file.
